NEW YORK (NY)
Slate
February 16, 2019
By Molly Olmstead
The Vatican announced on Saturday that ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, once the archbishop of Washington, has been expelled from the priesthood after being found guilty of sexually abusing minors for decades. McCarrick was for decades one of the most powerful figures in the American Catholic church.
According to the New York Times, the ruling appears to be the first time an American cardinal or bishop has ever been laicized, a process that strips a former priest of all clerical titles, rights, and resources, including housing and any other financial benefits. It also seems to be the first time any cardinal has been laicized over sexual abuse.
The 88-year-old McCarrick has been accused of abusing three minors over decades. Last summer, an investigation by the Archdiocese of New York found an assault accusation from the 1970s to be credible, and McCarrick was removed from office—making him the highest-ranking American Catholic leader to be held to account for abuse allegations. Further reporting by the New York Times and Washington Post found that McCarrick’s rumored behavior had long been an open secret and that church leaders had paid settlements to men who complained of abuse when McCarrick was a bishop. Pope Francis ordered McCarrick to a life of “penance and prayer” during the recent investigation, and he has been living in a Kansas religious residence since.
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